Just the Four of Us...

So blessed!

The Sisters

We've decided that when we refer to the girls together, we will call them "The Sisters." My friend Tonya (whom I used to work with, and I miss dearly) used to call her twin girls, "The Sisters," and I loved it!

Claire met Lauren the first time at the hospital, but it was crazy, and she didn't really interact much. This video is from the night Claire came home from Grams and Papa's house and she got to interact with Lauren for the first time. She was very sweet. And then she pushed her away.

I can't wait to see the bond that grows between them over the years. There's nothing like having a sister!

What's in a Name?

Well, our little "L-Belle," "Ladybug," "Lauren Suz,""La," "Lala" is here! We've gotten a lot of questions about her name, which is fun and, of course, expected.

It took a long time to finally decide on a name for our sweet girl. We spent about 4-5 hours in the car coming home from Pittsburgh discussing names. There were a few requirements:

1. The name needed to be something classic, traditional, or a name that would "hold up" over time. Nothing "trendy" or too "popular." We didn't want a name on the "top 10 baby name list."

2. It needs to be a good "adult" name. Not just a good "baby" name. Would it be a good name for an adult with a good job, as a wife, etc... If this makes sense at all.

3. We tried for 1 syllable. This wouldn't work. We tried every name!

4. It needs to go well with the name "Claire" obviously. We didn't want their names to have the same letter (Chloe) or rhyme with Claire (Blaire, etc...)

5. The middle name needed to be a family name of some sort, preferably after my mom, because Claire's middle name was after Mark's mom and grandmother (Marie). Our first born was girl, and since Twyla (Mark's mom) had all boys, and really wanted granddaugthers, we wanted to honor her by naming the first granddaugther after her. It has been neat to know that Claire's middle name is after her Grams, who is an excellent example of a Godly, Proverbs 31 woman.

6. We wanted her name to have a good meaning, or at least not a "weird" or "bad" meaning. We really liked the name, Emily, but it meant "rival," and we didn't want our 2nd daughter to rival our first. We also liked Leah, but it meant "weary," and we just didn't want a weakling of a daughter. Ha! So, we also decided that a name that was "neutral" was okay.

7. Pronunciation- it had to be a name most people couple pronounce. I mean, as a teacher, I can't tell you how frustrating it was when names were weird or weird to pronounce. Now, Lauren is often pronounced "Lawren" or sometimes "Lowren." We decided that it wasn't a big deal to us if that particular syllable was said differently. I even asked a few Lauren's how they pronounced their name, and if they cared that other people pronounced it differently. They all said that it didn't seem to matter.

8. A "Good" Student- Okay, so this was my stipulation. No names of former students that drove me nuts. This was easier for girls than boys, but either way, I was a cheer coach, too, so I've had some "sass" and I wanted my daughter's name to have a good taste in my mouth from my teaching days.

9. It needed to be a name that couldn't be shortened. We liked Jillian and Lillian, but we knew people would call her "Jill" or "Lilli" and we just didn't really want that. So, that shortened our list a bit.

10. We had to both agree on the name, and we both had to have a peace about it. :)

So... we decided on her middle name first. Suzin. That is an interesting name, right? It's pronounced, Soo-zine or Soozeen (not soo-san or soo-zen) and it's my mom's name. My mom has been a living example of how faithful the Lord is, and how much he loves us. We have been encouraged so much by mom, especially in the last few years, and we felt like it would be really neat for Lauren to be able to explain her middle name and how it's after her Nana, who loves her and the Lord dearly.

Next, her first name. Man, it was tough. Honestly, it wasn't until around January 5 or so that we decided on her name. We were down to 2 names, and the other name made it on the "Top 10 Girl Names of 2010," and after about 2 weeks of hearing of about 10 baby girls with that name, we decided to go with the name Lauren. We loved the fact that it was a classic name and went with Claire really well. Also, we really like that Claire and Lauren have the same number of letters and so does Marie and Suzin. Symmetry!

Well, that's how her name, Lauren Suzin came to be. Here's hoping she likes her name when she's older. Look at all the thought we put into it. How could she not love it? Well, we love it, and we love her!

Feet

Where have your feet carried you lately? :)

Photos from Lauren's First Days

Ready to Meet McBaby Girl #2!

We have reached our final countdown, and now we are counting down hours. I can't believe that by tomorrow we will be a family of 4. This pregnancy has flown by, and I am trying to remember what it's like to have a newborn again. You'd think that I would remember it, as it was only 14 months ago that Claire was a newborn. Amazing how your mind just moves on, you know? Here are some pics of sweet Claire, our first baby girl, getting a picture of how big her little sister will be.

We head to the hospital this evening, and we they will prepare me for induction tomorrow morning. I am nervous, but excited at the same time. I didn't have an epidural with Claire, and I am hoping I can do the same with this one, however, like before, I am just going to go in with an open (but determined) mind. We have such wonderful support from our family, friends, and church family, and we feel so blessed that God is trusting us with another sweet gift of a child. The next post will probably be our announcement, so stay tuned!

Let's hope she's as excited about her little sister as she was about this watermelon... ha!

Our Little Walker

Well, she is officially walking. I would say January 11 was the day I would call her a "walker." Although, she does still prefer to crawl quite a bit (only because she is lightening fast as a crawler). I don't know how we'll keep up with her now, but it sure is fun to watch!

Claire... Meet, Claire.

Christmas 2010

Sorry this post is so late... Better late than never! This will probably be the last post before our new baby girl arrives. So exciting! Here are some highlights from our Christmas holiday this year. It was so wonderful to see Claire interact with family, friends, gifts, and all things Christmas. It will be so much fun to see both our girls at Christmas, next year!

We started out the holiday season with the annual cookie party at the Kolendo's house. We've been doing this for 4 years now (I believe), and it was fun to let the kiddos join us for a bit. Claire had her first Christmas cookie with Daddy (fitting) and LOVED it! We had a blast.